The Shy One
by WhamKat
Summary: Hinata never expected to join her favorite band through an arranged marriage, but then again, she never expected to fall in love with her fiance either. SasuXHina. Hiatus
1. A Bet was Made

**Ok so I'm not dead. But I'm not restarting my other stories either. Sorry! I just kinda, grew uninterested in them. I'll try harder on this one though.**

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Hinata Hyuuga sighed as Iruka-sensei's voice droned on. He was teaching her favorite subject, English, but try as she might, Hinata wasn't happy today. Even if it was her sweet sixteen. 

Every day was the same to her. She had a schedule going, and she never broke it. On weekdays it was pretty much the same: wake up, shower, eat, school, homework, eat, and then sleep. The only relief she got from this was Saturdays.

Saturdays for Hinata were for fun time. She spent almost a whole day on the computer, admiring pictures and music videos of her favorite band: "The Ninjas" or sometimes even, sneaking out to their concerts, making up an excuse that she was at a friend's house.

Hinata especially liked their feisty drummer, The Fox. He had a constant bubble of charisma and confidence surrounding him. It didn't hurt that he was a total hottie, with golden hair and azure eyes. From reading on his fansites, Hinata knew that the whiskers plastered across his cheeks were scars from some kind of fight.

Out of obligation, Hinata visited the rest of the bands' sites and blogs. There was The Unloved, who did bass guitar. His blood red hair and outlined-in-black cerulean eyes made him a big hit with some of the hardcore rockers. Last year there was a rumor that he overdosed on sleeping pills and had to go to the hospital, but no one knew if it was true.

Then there was The Avenger, their fearless leader. He did lead guitar and he was the vocalist. He seemed to be the most popular among girls, but Hinata couldn't comprehend why. He had black hair that glinted blue in the sunlight, and black, pupil less eyes. Maybe girls liked him because of the money? Hinata thought. It was said that The Avenger was loaded.

Last but not least was the band's song writer. He was the mastermind behind it all. The public has never seen his face, and only know him by his codename: The Genius. He had quite a few cults…… I mean _groups_ of people who worshipped… I mean_ admired_ his genius lyrics.

"Hinata, could you please answer number 3 for me please?" Hinata blushed as she looked down at her paper. She hadn't been paying attention again. Blushing, she mumbled an "I didn't understand it.", and flinched as she heard the snickers from her classmates. She sat back down and silently prayed for 3:00 to come sooner.  
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**  
**As Hinata opened the door to the house, she felt a little bit suspicious. She didn't see any gardeners working outside, and none of the maids were scurrying around the house like they usually do. Why was it so quite?

"Surprise!" Ten Ten and Hanabi yelled from behind a table. Hinata's father and Neji didn't bother with the yelling, but just strode into the room.

Ten Ten was Neji's long term girlfriend. She had been around as a sort of mother-figure for Hinata and Hanabi.  
"Happy Birthday!" Ten Ten squealed, and gave Hinata a hug. Hinata smiled and returned it.

"W-What's all this?" Hinata asked, as she stepped back to admire the kitchen. They has really gone all out this year. There were streamers and balloons lining the ceiling. A triple layered cake sat magnificently on the table, a_ Congratulations_ written on the top with pink frosting. But wait. Was turning 16 really such a big deal? Her other birthdays never got any special attention. So why now?

Hinata turned her attentions to her sister, and was startled to see tears in her eyes that were threatening to spill over. With a start, Hinata realized that Ten Ten's smile seemed somehow forced. "W-what happened?"

"Hinata, I think it would be best if we would talk in the other room." Hiashi spoke for the first time since Hinata entered the room. Gingerly, she followed behind him.  
He led them into his private office. Sitting behind his desk, Hiashi gestured Hinata to take the client's chair in front of him.

"As you might know, Hyuuga Corp. has not been doing too well."  
It was true, her father's company dealt a lot within the stock market, and recently had invested in a bad sale. Hinata couldn't figure out what this had to do with her.

"Yes, well, I got involved with some bad people, and well… you see…" For the first time in all of Hinata's 16 years, her father looked at a loss for words. She had to fight the urge to get a camcorder ready.

"To save my company, I made a foolish gamble with an old colleague of mine. And I lost." The way he called himself foolish made Hinata's skin feel prickly. Mustering up her courage, she asked the question that had been nagging at the back of her mind, but instantly regretted it.

"What did you gamble away then?"

"You."  
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**Mwa hahahaha. Cliff hanger strikes again! If you want more, just review. Itll only take about a minute. . and just so u know, iof u want a specific pairing in here, I'll try to write it in. (or if u want ur OC in here or sumthin, we'll see)**


	2. A Misunderstanding

**Sorry if I took too long to update. I've been kinda busy with homework . . Second quarter just ended, and I just got back my report card!! Yay me!**

**Oh, and Fugaku (Sasuke and Itachi's father) is very OOC in this fic. And alive. Don't forget alive.  
And so, here is chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto characters, but I do pwn them .**

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"Please unbuckle your seatbelts when the light turns green, and thank you for flying with SoraAirlines. We hope you enjoyed your flight."

Hinata awoke at the monotone sound of the flight attendant's voice. With difficulty, she rose from the soft, first class seat. For a second, she didn't understand as to why she was on an airplane and not in her room, but realization soon dawned on her. A wave of depression hit her.

_I'm getting married to one of my father's associates_

Swiftly she got up, and silently took her purse from the upper storage space. Holding on to it tightly, she made her way through the crowded aisles to the door. __

My whole life is ruined.  


A flight attendant smiled at her before Hinata could leave.

"Did you like your flight dear?"

Hinata forced herself to try to smile, but stopped as she felt tears at the edge of her eyes. Instead she nodded her head and quickly rushed to the luggage area.

_I wonder if my father is happy to be rid of me?_

She bitterly smiled and finally let her tears fall. She hadn't cried, no, _couldn't_ cry, in front of Hanabi or Ten Ten.

She had lied to them both, explaining how she had been keeping a secret relationship with this man for months, and their marriage was preplanned. Ten Ten gobbled the story up, but Hanabi was a little bit more skeptical. Hinata knew that them not worrying about her would be for their own benefit, but still felt a fresh wave of tears fall down her face.

Her own father took tears as a sign of weakness, and so came Hinata's habit of keeping them at bay for as long as possible, at least until no one was around. Sometimes she had to wait days just to cry, and those were the worst. It was like not eating, or not sleeping. Crying was a necessity for proof of human nature.

Hinata gave one last sniff, and tried to make herself feel better. Crying it out usually helped, but if she were to meet this future husband of hers, she had to be on her best behavior.

_Maybe he'll find me displeasing in some way, and send me back? But then why does he want ME so badly? I'm not that special, my grades and looks are average. Then again, maybe this man is so repulsive he can't afford to get a beautiful wife, lest she cheats on him._

With a gasp, Hinata realized something else.

_If not me, this Uchiha man might take something else of father's…Hanabi! Oh god, kami-sama, Buddha, Santa, anyone, please let this man like me. If he doesn't, he might take Hanabi to be his bride!  
_

Hinata knew it was a little farfetched, but she wasn't going to take any chances. Afterall, even though Hanabi was 13, she was far more impressive mind-wise. She spotted her suitcases, and looked around.

_All I know is his name. What am I supposed to do now?_

An answer soon came when she saw a middle aged man in the corner, holding a sign that read "Hinata Hyuuga". She walked up to the man, and in a timid voice asked him, "Are you Fugaku Uchiha?"

To Hinata's relief, he shook his head no, and when Hinata let out an audible sigh, the middle aged man looked slightly offended, but motioned for her to follow him.

She walked quietly behind him as they reached a limousine, and the man opened the back door for her. The man went to the driver's seat, and Hinata soon fell asleep against the limo's soft leather cushions.

**………………………………………………………………………………………………**

A tapping against the window woke her. Jumping up quickly, Hinata rushed to straighten out her clothes and hair. She stepped out of the limo, and was soon swept away by a group of fussy maids.

In the many hallways, Hinata felt sure that she could have probably gotten lost in this house for days.

_The bathroom here is bigger than my room!  
_

First, the maids bathed her, cooing softly with a slight hint of jealousy on how long and _soft_ Hinata's hair was, how _smooth_ her skin was. Hinata's face turned many shades of red, to the maids' amusement.

Next, they wrapped her in a warm fuzzy robe, and led her to a room. Taking her hands, they painted her nails black. A stern looking woman then came into the room, and taking one look at Hinata, snapped her fingers, and a black dress was brought to Hinata to try on.

When she was done, a man came in and expertly put her hair up, and added a bit of gloss to her lips.  
Throughout all this, Hinata's mind was buzzing.

_What are they doing? What's going on?! Why did they give me such a nice dress, and such expensive looking shoes?! What if I get them dirty? Would I have to pay for them?_She was led yet again to a door. The middle aged man took her arm, and escorted her through the door and into a dining area.

_Oh. My. God._

………………………………………………………………………………………………__

Without his eyeliner and heavy black clothes, Hinata might have missed it. But the duck's tail shaped hair gave him away.

_It's the Avenger!_

The Avenger was sitting on the left side of a very large dining table, his face scrubbed clean, and no black nail polish on his hands. When his black eyes rested on Hinata's own, she felt a tiny wave of nausea overcome her.

Across the Avenger was an unknown specimen. His hair was longer, and he had premature wrinkles lining his cheeks, but he had the same cold black eyes. Colder, even. So cold that Hinata shivered. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the Avenger's older brother. Hinata shivered at the thought of these being her future step-sons. For God's sake, they were around HER age, if not older!

Hinata finally lifted her eyes to the head of the table. The man, Fugaku Uchiha, looked cold and distant, but something in his eyes gave away how much he loved his two sons.

_I think it's the fact that he keeps looking over at them, like a worried mother about to send her child off to his first day of school._

The middle-aged man that had been her chauffeur (and now her escort) led her to a chair not far from the doorway.

_I could probably run if I wanted, leave this place and never come back, but I'm too scared to. I feel like a stray cat being cornered by a pack of wild dogs._

**………………………………………………………………………………………………**

_  
_Dinner went on silently, save for the sound of silverware being used. Hinata was busy studying the carefully embroidered flowers on her napkin, she thought she heard a voice. Looking up, and instantly regretting it, she found all three Uchihas looking expectantly at her…..well.. ok…, one looking expectantly, one looking bored out of his mind, and one looking cold AND bored out of his mind. But, nonetheless, they were all looking at her with those same black eyes, and it sent a painful tingle in Hinata's head.

"C-Could you p-please repeat th-that?" Hinata scolded herself for stuttering in front of the president of Uchiha corp.

Said person narrowed his eyes a tiny bit. "I said, How. Was. Your. Flight. From. New. York?" He was speaking very slowly.

_Great. Now he thinks I'm a total retard._

"I-It was very pleasant." Somehow, Fugaku looked displeased with this answer, so Hinata tried again.

"There w-was no turbulence, a-and the f-flight attendants w-were all very nice l-looking." Hinata blushed an almost impossible shade of pink.

"I-I m-meant th-that i-it w-was n-nice t-t-to see a s-smile on a-all their f-faces, not…" Again Hinata scolded herself, but then blushed again at the thought of what she had just implied.

_Why am I always messing things up?  
_

Then, to her surprise, she heard a small chuckle. That soon turned into laughter. That soon turned suspiciously into a cough. Looking up, Hinata couldn't tell who it was, but still, that laughter had made her feel at ease. Even the Avenger and his brother….__

I'll call him the Elder for now, seeing as how he looks well beyond his years.

…..didn't look that intimidating anymore. Hinata let out a breathe that she hadn't known she had been holding.

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**  
After dinner was over, the Head walked over to Hinata. She saw the Avenger and the Elder leave without looking at each other, but put her attention back to Fugaku.

_I must make sure to listen to him closely, as to not annoy him like earlier. Afterall, I AM his fiancé.  
_

He was silent, and Hinata felt slightly awkward just standing in the middle of a room not doing anything, but dared not move. Finally, he lifted his eyes and gazed at her intently.

"So, what do you think of them?"  
Hinata looked confused. "About who?" Fugaku just sighed, and said it slowly.  
"Sasuke and Itachi"  
Hinata's face just became more confused. "Who are they?"

Fugaku looked very annoyed now, and talked even slower.

"Of. My. Sons. Who. Do. You. Like. Better.?"

"You mean the Avenger and the Eldest?" She had said it aloud without thinking.

"Why did you call them that?" Fugaku's annoyed face was now replaced with an amused one. "Actually, these names are very descriptive of their attitudes but why would you…..?"  
"I-I didn't know t-their names." Fugaku's face was stunned, but realization dawned him.

"My apologies, I forgot to introduce them to you." An anime drop popped on his head and he smiled apologetically. "The Avenger, the younger one, is Sasuke, and the Elder is the older one,Itachi. Am I correct.?"  
"H-Hai!"

"So, Hinata, which one do you like better?"

_This must be a test of some sort, to see if I will be a good mother, for what kind of mother would choose between her children who she likes best?_

"A-Ano, I can't d-decide. T-They both s-seem v-very n-nice."

_Not.  
_

Fugaku looked displeased. "Yes yes, my sons are both very nice, but which one do you think is better?"

Hinata was utterly confused now. If she answered him wrong, what would happen? Sighing, Hinata remembered vaguely which son was which, and said the name that first came to mind.

"Sasuke."

Fugaku smiled radiantly. "Good choice, good choice. When shall we set the wedding date?"

_Why is he asking about our wedding date now?_

Looking at Fugaku, she said in a small voice. "I-I think it would be b-better for us to m-m-marry when I am 18, seeing as how n-now would be difficult. Plus, w-we need to let your sons get used to me, i-in order f-for me to b-become a g-good mother for th-them."

Fugaku looked down at her in bewilderment. "Hinata, who exactly do you think you are marrying."  
"Y-You?"

A large laugh erupted from Fugaku's throat. Hinata only looked at him in surprise.

_Was I wrong?_

Wiping tears from his eyes, Fugaku looked fondly at Hinata, and murmured something to himself that turned Hinata's world upside down. "I'm going to have so much fun with you as my daughter-in-law."

_D-Did h-he just s-say d-d-daughter-in-law?!?!?_


	3. The Sting of Just Desserts

Aah

**Aah! I'm so happy that this story is so popular! Remember, I'm still accepting requests for pairings, but the main pairing has already been decided. SasuxHina. But, I might add some onesided love to the characters of ur choosing! So review if you want something specific to happen!  
Oh, and on request, I made Hinata stop stuttering as much. It was annoying me and I'm sure it was annoying you. **

**Also, I apologize for taking so long to update. I promise that it will be a lot faster this time, since my internet connection is now perfectly virus free. So look forward to it once a week, every Monday or Sunday.**

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**_  
Daughter-in-law!  
_

The words hit Hinata like a bullet. Surely she had heard wrong? Then again, Fugaku was smiling at her, amusement still evident in his eyes.

_I can't believe I was so stupid!  
_

"Are you disappointed? I know I am a handsome man Hinata, but I think it will be much better for you to marry someone closer to your age." After that, he gave her a cocky little wink.  
Hinata blushed red. "If I-I wasn't to marry you, th-then why did you b-b-bring me here?"

Fugaku looked puzzled. "What do you mean? Your father insisted that you come here and marry one of my sons. He practically begged me to take you as a daughter-in-law!"

Hinata was stunned.

_So, in reality, I was set up. Of course my father wanted me to marry one of his associates' sons to create a sort of alliance. I knew it would happen one day. But I never knew he would force me to do it so soon. After all, I just turned sixteen!_

_  
_ "W-What about our money expenses? Didn't y-you pay them off?"

Fugaku's smile widened. "Quit joking Hinata! Hyuuga corp. has one of the worlds' best stock, second only to mine. You would never have any money problems."

_So this was all an elaborate plan to get me to marry?_

_  
_ "So Hinata, I take it that the wedding will take place when you are 18? It will be a splendid affair, I assure you. And whatever you want shall be granted. In fact, I'd like it very much if you would start calling me father."

"Yes……f-father"

"Now, ask one of the maids to take you to your room, and get a good night's rest. Tomorrow shall be your first day of school!"

Of course, that being said, Hinata didn't get a good night's rest at all.

Sunlight streamed through Hinata's window. A maid was scurrying around, picking up the clothes Hinata had shed, and putting them in a laundry basket. Hinata's eyes sleepily drifted to the clothes laid out on her bedside table.

_It's a uniform._

Carefully she got up, and started her morning ritual. Brush teeth, comb hair, get dressed, and run down the stairs when you see the time. When she arrived to the hallway, she got confused as to where to go. A helpful maid gave her directions, and Hinata found herself at the doors leading to the dining area.

_Here goes nothing…._

_  
_The dining room was far lighter than yesterday. The windows brought in light that was so bright that Hinata's eyes were watering.

_I guess that's California for you._

Breakfast was thankfully silent, but uncomfortable. The Avenger kept glaring at Hinata every time she so much as glanced at him. A cold pit had gathered in her stomach.

**  
**After breakfast, Hinata was escorted outside. The limousine arrived at the entrance, and Hinata felt a sense of relief wash over her as she saw the familiar chauffeur at the driving seat. But then absolute horror consumed her when she entered the limo.

_Sasuke….._

She pretended not to notice him however, and as the houses rolled by silence consumed the limo. Hinata looked over to the driver, but was dismayed to see that his window (the one separating the passengers from drivers) was rolled up. He was bopping his head rhythmically, and from the mirror she could see him lip singing.

_I wonder what he's listening to._

_  
_After about 10 minutes of absolute silence (save for Hinata's breathing) she heard Sasuke's voice.  
"I will never love you."  
Hinata looked over at him, bewilderment evident in her eyes.

_He spoke! He isn't mute! Then again, if he is the lead singer for a band he can't be a mute. Oh, wait, I didn't hear what he said.  
_

"C-Come again?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her.  
"Why does my father always like the stupid ones?" he mumbled to himself, and then to Hinata, "I said I will never love you. It doesn't matter if we marry each other, I still won't love you. So don't think because you asked your father to arrange this that I will actually go through with this marriage!"

"I don't l-love you. I don't w-want to m-m-marry you either." He looked over at her and scoffed.

"Look at you, you're practically strangling the seats trying not to attack me."

_Oh, I want to attack you alright._

"And anyway, don't fool yourself into thinking that you even have a chance with me. You're plain, short, and stupid."

_He's known me for a day, and already he hates me. Well I hate him too. So there!_

"Like I-I said, I don't want to m-m-marry you." At this point, Hinata was getting impatient. She couldn't understand how if she said one thing, he thinks another.

"Oh stop with that shy act already! I already know the truth, so why bother?! Rich people like you are all the same, snobby, conceited, and never thinking about anyone bu-."

Sasuke never got to finish.

Hinata's hand had moved with a mind of its own. She didn't realize what she had done until it was too late.

Her hand stung where it had hit his cheek.

All she had thought about was the fact that he was insulting not her, but anyone who had a substantial sum of money.

As if he wasn't a part of them.

As if they had wronged him in any way.

As if he had first experience on how cruel people were.

The rest of the car ride left Sasuke wondering how a girl like _her_ could actually manage to slap him without a thought, as if she didn't care what he thought of her.

But that was impossible. 'After all', he mused quietly, 'I AM the lead singer of the nation's hottest band. There is no way that girl doesn't love me.'

Oh how wrong he was.  
**  
**They arrived at the academy, and Hinata jumped out the door as soon as the limousine stopped. She was mortified at what she had done, but what made it worse was that Sasuke didn't say anything after that, which was worse.

**  
**

**Yes, I AM that evil. I know how long you've waited for something interesting to happen, and you are probably cursing me out right now. Just tune in on Sunday to see what the academy is like. Cheers!**


	4. Grandchildren!

**Sorry for not updating, but trust me, I will not give up on this story! In fact, I was writing so much on the first week, but then I got carpal tunnel syndrome! -- Now I'm only allowed to go on the computer for an hour a day, at least until my wrists heal.**

**Hope you take 5 secs out of ur busy life to write a review :D . If u have any suggestions for the story, write it here! I WANT TO IMPROVE!**

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Hinata stood in front of the school's main entrance, unsure of whether to open the door or not. The schedule that the limousine driver had given her wasn't very helpful, but she was relived that she didn't have to go to the main office and talk to a stranger.

Hidden Leaf High was a big place, and it was filled with trophies and paintings. The walls were covered with large lockers about the size of an average closet, and each locker had a different number of stars on them. There were four lockers in particular that she noticed, because they were covered in gold stars.

Hinata stopped at almost every award case. Inside were photographs of famous people that Hinata had seen on TV. She was astounded at how many of the worlds most famous singers and actors had graduated from this school.

The door was stuck to room 201 (her first period classroom) when Hinata tried to open it, and she had to jiggle it around a few times. Finally it swung open, and Hinata heard a loud thud as it hit the blackboard behind it.

_Woops._

Blushing a shade of red that would put any cherry into shame, she scurried into the classroom, straight to the teachers' desk.

"What are you doing in my classroom, oh youthful blossom of springtime?"

"Umm… I'm th-the new s-s-student."

The teachers' formerly happy face turned into a wicked smile. His beady eyes glinted evilly under his bushy eyebrows, and Hinata shrank back. He looked frightening.

"Class…Claass…Class?….. CLASS!!". His face was lined with angry red veins as he tried to get the classes attention. Finally, the room was silent.

"Class, today we are blessed with a new student! Now, everyone get into a circle. We have to show her the welcoming dance!"  
The sound of groans could be heard from the majority of the students.  
"NOW!!"

Hinata wasn't sure whether to join in or not, so she just leaned against the wall. She looked on in interest as the class rearranged itself so that the desks and chairs leaned against the walls and the students stood in a circle in the middle of the room.

"Everybody ready?!"  
"……Yes sensei…."

" I can't hear you!  
"YES SENSEI!"

…..And so began the demise of Hinata's innocence, complete with pelvic thrusts and ear drum shattering screams galore. One student in particular was very……_graphic_ in his pelvic thrusts…..and Hinata knew she would have nightmares about that for years to come.

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Second period was slightly better.

The teacher, Kurenai-sensei, seemed to take pity on the shy girl, and didn't introduce her. She sat Hinata down into a chair in the back, and Hinata spent the rest of the period doodling in her sketchbook. It was a bit boring, but Hinata liked that it was quiet.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Gym was a bit much for Hinata.  
The teacher was called Anko, a loud and dangerous woman. She seemed to get a sick sense of enjoyment in watching Hinata squirm, and made her demonstrate all the yoga poses. Yes, including downward facing dog. And yes, this caused about 20 nosebleeds in the class. (You see… Hinata's is very cute. I don't know why, but that's what people are saying. shrugs)

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Lunch was, in a word, neat.

The sort of neat you expect in library shelves.

Hinata could tell that there were cliques at this high school that were far more exaggerated than at her old one.

There were the people in the front, talking in some sort of language that Hinata had never heard of.

Next to them, but a little further than necessary, were a group of people just reading from books and one or two were writing. But that's all they were doing. Their empty lunch plates (filled with food fit for royalty) were sitting neatly in rows on the tables, completely untouched.

Next to the tables, but not actually at one, was a group that was reading also, but out loud. Their hand movements and facial expressions while they read suggested to Hinata that they were all in some sort of drama performance.

Next to the windows was a group that nearly blinded Hinata. Every single one of them was outstandingly beautiful, each with a unique characteristic. Their hair seemed to shine with the power of a thousand suns, and Hinata had a strange urge to get out her sunglasses.

Last, but not least, was the group in the middle of the cafeteria. As Hinata walked by them, her ears picked up a strange arrangement of instruments. The students each had some sort of instrument, and those without one were using their splendid vocal chords. The result was a jumbled piece of music, out of pitch, too loud and completely random.

Hinata loved it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Before she knew it, lunch was over. Hinata had been so captivated by the music that she had lost track of time, and was on the verge of being late to her next class.

_Oh joy. I wonder what kind of weird teacher I'll meet __this__ time._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Over here! Wake up new girl!"

Hinata's eyes opened hesitantly to meet with short strawberry ice cream hair and pistachio ice cream eyes.

_Darn. Since I didn't eat lunch today, everything is starting to look like food._The mysterious person smiled and turned to someone out of Hinata's vision.

"She's awake! Make sure the teacher is gone!" Hinata heard a muffled response, and then the girl in her peripheral vision pointed a thumb up, and then turned to Hinata again.

"Hi! Nice to meet you! My names' Sakura!"

"N-nice to meet you S-Sakura-san."

"Hey! What about me!"  
Hinata turned her head to find a blueberry-

_Is there such thing as blueberry ice cream?  
_

-I mean, blue-eyed girl, with long golden hair tied neatly in a ponytail. Her annoyed pout at not being introduced only enhanced her innocent looking face, making Hinata cringe inwardly to know that perfect people like this girl really do exist.

"Hello, my name's Ino."

Hinata blushed at being caught staring, but Ino looked as if she was used to it.

_She probably __is__ used to it._

_  
_"My n-name is Hinata. Hinata Hyuuga."

Sakura and Ino both opened their mouths in shock, and Ino let out a low whistle.

"Whoa. Hyuuga. As in, Hyuuga corp. right? Any chance you know the president?"  
"Umm… I-I'm h-h-his daughter."

Hinata felt an angry flush creep up her neck as Ino and Sakura's eyes both widened.

Usually she felt a sense of pride in being a Hyuuga, but due to the recent events she wished she was anything but. It was bad enough that she had been traded like a bag of potatoes, but what was worse was that there was no reason for her to be marrying Sasuke.

Apparently the whole money problems were just a hoax, but still, what was it that her father wanted out of this marriage?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Grandchildren."

"What?

Hanabi's side of the phone gave off a scratchy noise as she sighed.

"Dad said that he wants grandchildren. Now."

It was after school. Hinata had gotten home about an hour ago. Seeing one of the maids on her cell phone, she realized just how stupid she had been.

She wasn't stuck in this place. All it would take to get back home would be a quick phone call to her father, begging him to take her home and break off the engagement. So she called the mansion with her cell phone, and was surprised when Hanabi picked up.

"W-W-Wait. Why does f-f-father w-want grandchildren?"  
"Hell if I know."

"B-But why d-d-did he set me up with h-h-his friends' s-s-son?"

Hanabi's voice lightened faster than you can say bi-polar.

"Oh that! Well he saw you looking at those band's website a lot, and afterall, he was the one who paid the bills for your tickets and stuff when you bought them with your credit card."

Hinata's face turned pink in embarrassment.

_To think, for all these years I thought no one but Ten Ten knew about my secret love for boy bands. But why did he get the impression that I liked The Avenger out of all the band members?_

"Dad said he didn't care which one you like. He thought The Avenger was the best, and he also said that Hina-chin (chin is a cute honorific used mostly by little girls.It's like the kiddie version of chan.) deserved only the best. Oh, and you were talking out loud again."

_Dammit! I thought I got rid of that habit in my early-but not referenced to in this chapter-childhood!_………………………………………………………………………………………………

**I had writers block for a while now. Sorry this chapter ended so abrubtly, but I hope you liked my attempt at humor. Oh, and sorry for not adding any fluff in this, but you'll have another chapter before Spring vacation is over.**


	5. Make Me A Star

Here it is

**  
Here it is! I'm sure you've all been waiting patiently for this chapter, and here's your reward! Oh, and just to clear things up just in case:**

Author's Note  
Narrative.  
_Hinata's slightly pessimistic and sarcastic thoughts  
_This is used for _emphasis._  
"Talking"**  
**  
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hinata's whole day was ruined. No, scratch that, whole _year _was ruined.

She was in her room, lying down on the feathery bed. She relished the soft feeling of the warm quilt cushioning her back, but it didn't make her feel much better. The walls were a bright pink, and it hurt her eyes to look too long at them.

_Curse my sensitive Hyuuga eyes._

She turned her eyes to the ceiling instead, tracing and recognizing the patterns the paint had made.

Anything to distract herself from the thought of her and Sasuke……

_No! I will not picture it! Once I think about it for too long it'll haunt me forever! I'll just keep looking at the weird bumps on the ceiling. Hey! That one looks kind of like a puppy..._

…That was how the maids found her, looking half crazed at trying not to think about something.

Because the thing is, if you think about not thinking about something, you're thinking about it anyway.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hinata found herself being led to dinner again, only this time into a different room. When asked why, a maid informed her that yesterday's room was the Sunday-dining room, and there were 7 dining rooms in total._  
_  
Hinata eyed the new room curiously. While the other dining room seemed antique and classy, this one was the exact opposite. There were mirrors and glass vases and all sorts of other things, and the dining table itself was made out of glass. Staring back at her from just about every surface were her reflections, and it made Hinata uneasy.

After waiting for a few minutes, the other members of the household trickled in, and Hinata was introduced for the first time to Mikoto, Fugaku's wife. (She was on a business trip recently, and was very sorry that she hadn't met Hinata earlier.) The only one not at the dinner table was Sasuke, and Hinata wondered where he was.

After the main course, Sasuke finally entered the room. His eyes were sharp and cutting when he turned his head to glare at poor Hinata, who almost choked on her spoonful of soup.

The whole left side of Sasuke's face was a dulling red, contrasting painfully with his pale skin. A light swelling was present as well, and Hinata found herself wincing. She felt insanely guilty at having been the one to cause the wound, and yet, she felt strangely good_._

That was the first time I've ever stood up for myself. But I guess that's no excuse to resort to violence. I'll apologize to him…..later. After I'm sure he won't murder me.

"Oh my! Sasuke! What happened?" Mikoto exclaimed as she rushed to her sons' side. Itachi looked as if he couldn't care less about his little brother, but Hinata noticed a sense of enjoyment in his eyes as he studied the wound.__

She turned just in time to see Sasuke took his mothers' hand away from his cheek.

"I fell."

A look of disbelief clouded Mikoto's face, but she stopped fussing over him. Her mouth pouted, and Hinata thought that the grown woman before her was about to throw a tantrum. Instead, she walked over to her seat and sat down, only glancing at her son's face on the mirrors. The rest of the meal was spent in silence. Hinata's head, however, was practically buzzing with relief.

_It looks like he's too ashamed to admit that a girl slapped him. Good. I was afraid I'd be kicked out of the house before I even spent a week here! _  
_  
_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After the meal, Hinata excused herself from the table and then made a hasty retreat to the peace and quiet of her own room. Alas, she was ripped away from any hope of reaching her destination when a hand caught her wrist in the hallway. She turned around quickly as the wrist pulled her in the opposite direction.

"W-What are you d-doing?"

Sasuke's head turned sharply. His cold eyes narrowed a little bit, and Hinata's stomach suddenly started to hurt.

_Wow. This guys' glare actually causes me physical pain. I wonder if this is what it feels like to fall under someone's killer intent._

Sasuke's stride never wavered, and Hinata had to take practically two steps to match his one. She rushed forward, refusing to be dragged like a naughty puppy.

_I'm the heiress to Hyuuga Corp.! At least tell me what's going on!_

After nearly another 10 minutes, they finally reached Sasuke's destination. He pushed Hinata roughly inside, and she stumbled onto the floor. She heard the click of the lock, and was quite startled by it. Sasuke strode over to her, and Hinata's imagination finally ran away from her.

_It couldn't be that father told him to…no. Surely even Sasuke wouldn't…. or would he?_

She scrambled to her feet, and went to the far side of the room. Sasuke just cocked an eyebrow and sat down on a chair behind a desk, and motioned for Hinata to take the one across him.

"We have to talk."  
"W-what do w-we have t-t-to talk about?"

Sasuke looked over at her, sighed, then stood up. He walked to the window next to him, and then commenced to look out of it,in typical gangster fashion. Hinata noted that being a leader of a mob of gangsters suited him. His voice brought her back to reality.

"I think it would be a good idea for us to be married."  
"W-W-W-W-WHAT?!" She jumped out of her chair, and was looking at Sasuke like he had swallowed a horse. Whole.

Sasuke turned away from the window and looked at her disdainfully.  
"No need to overreact like that. And besides-"Sasuke smirked"-I feel a little bit offended that you can't stand the thought of you and me being together. Most women would leap at this chance."

_I guess I'm not most women then, brat._

"Anyway, you're the first girl that I've met that doesn't like me. Actually, you _hate_ me."  
Hinata mumbled an apology that Sasuke dismissed with a shake of his hand.  
"No, you don't see where I'm going here. See, I need women to stop obsessing over me. What better way than to feign a marriage?"  
Hinata only looked at him, then looked down. She knew that this plan of his had one very big flaw.

Why would she help him?

As if sensing Hinata's thoughts, Sasuke opened his mouth again to speak. "Of course, playing my fiancé and all wouldn't come for free. What do you want? Jewels? Money? Fame? I can make you a star Hinata, is that what you want?"

He was leaning over his desk now, and Hinata realized she was unconsciously leaning towards him too. She hastily leaned back into her own seat, then furrowed her eyebrows.

_The one thing I want right now would be to go home and pretend like all this nonsense never happened. But he wants me to pretend like we're married. For how long? And what about my future? I've always wanted to be woman fit to be by the side of The Fox. That's been my dream for all my teen life. If there was a chance for me to become like that, I would take it. So I guess I'd have to say…_

"Alright. I-I'll h-help y-y-you. Make m-me a s-s-star."


	6. Lucky Me

**  
I really am sorry about the rate that this story is going. Now that it's summer, it's gonna be updated a lot faster ok? So don't worry.  
And On request of ****lovetowritealways****, I'm making Hinata stutter less. I'm pretty sure it was annoying a lot of people, and it was annoying me too. But I can't exactly  
get rid of it altogether, so from now on, it'll be like this:**

"What are you doing?" which is basically:  
"W-What a-are y-y-you doing?"

See that? Each asterisk () equals one stuttered letter. If you don't like that, then please message me with a better suggestion. Thank you ********

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hinata hurried through the hallways the next morning. It was her second day, and she was running late! The cause of this was a night spent tossing, turning and wondering.

Her shoes slipped across the wooden floors of the stairwell, and it was getting hard to keep her balance. Cursing silently, she took her shoes off, and dashed at full speed. She managed to dodge the maids carrying laundry, but failed to notice one of the butlers.

After apologizing profusely about having ruined the poor mans' uniform, Hinata decided that it would be safer just to use the elevator.

As she reached the mansions' entrance, her lavender eyes scanned the street for any sign of the limo that took her to school the other day. To her dismay, she couldn't see it anywhere.

_Oh great, now what? How am I supposed to get to school?_

Something red and shiny caught her eyes. Turning to the brick wall, she saw a scooter. Hinata's eyes lit up, and she was about to reach for the handle, when she noticed a piece of paper stuck to it. Ripping it off, some of the ink on it rubbed off on her hands. She opened up the letter, and read it aloud to herself softly.

"Dear Hinata,  
Let this be a lesson to you. A star can NEVER be late for things, except when they want to make a dramatic entrance. Meet me in Music Room III, 4 o'clock today. I have some people I want you to meet. And DON'T be late."

Hinata crumpled the paper, and dug her nails in her hands.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

A while later, Hinata was at the steps of Konoha Gakuen, out of breathe and an hour late. Her hair was a mess and one of her shoes was scuffed from pounding on concrete for a half hour.

She ran to her second period class, Math. Lucky for Hinata, it was in the main building and it was on the first floor.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Hey! New girl! What's up?"

Hinata lifted her eyes to meet with the pistachio colored ones of her classmate.

_What was her name again? Sakura was it?_

"Why are you sitting here all alone? Come on! I'll introduce you to the group." That said, Sakura drag…. ESCORTED Hinata to a table in the middle of the cafeteria.

Again, Hinata heard that strange assortment of instruments and voices mixed together, and she suddenly felt calm. The odd pitches and rhythms sounded awful, but Hinata found herself craving more. It was strange.

As Sakura stopped at the table, a number of people looked up.

"Guys, this is that new girl I was talking about! Meet Hinata Hyuuga!"

An audible gasp went through the female members of this assortment, and Hinata flinched as accusing eyes fell upon her. Sakura, aware of this, gave Hinata a reassuring pat on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. If any one of them tries something, I'll rip their spines through their asses and play jump rope with them. Kay?"

All this was whispered with a wicked smile, and Hinata knew that she did not want to get on this girl's bad side.

"Hi! Remember me? We met yesterday."

Hinata turned to look at the blueberry eyed girl from yesterday. Ino. She smiled and put out a delicate hand for Hinata to shake.

Taking it, Hinata felt an odd sense of comfort she usually reserved for Ten Ten and Hanabi.

_I think I just made two new best friends…_

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"So, Hinata, what division are you in?"

Hinata looked up from her plate to give Ino a questioning look. Sakura and Ino both looked eager to now, and waited for some kind of answer.

"Division?"

Ino sighed. "I guess you don't know about them yet huh? Well then, I'll explain. There are 5 divisions: Theatre, Art, Vocal, Instumental and Academics. A student is allowed to be in, at the most, three divisions. But most don't apply for more than two. You with me so far?"

Hinata gave her a nod, and Ino continued.

"For every perfect grade you get in your division, you get a gold sticker. Once you get four gold stars, you get a two week vacation from school, along with a purse-load of cash. It helps with colleges and stuff, you know?"

Sakura leaned over the lunch table.

"Look, it's pretty easy to figure out your division. The school is supposed to tell you in the beginning of the year, but I guess since you just transferred, they forgot. Give me your schedule and I'll tell you what division you're in."

Hinata watched curiously as Sakura's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Her dinner plate eyes went from Hinata, to the schedule, back to Hinata again, and so forth for another minute before Ino rolled her eyes and snatched the schedule from her hands.

"Aw.. come on. It can't be that ba- HOLY CHRIST! HINATA IS SIGNED UP FOR _**FOUR**_ DIVISIONS?? IS THAT EVEN LEGAL??"

Hinata furrowed her brows.

"Is that bad?"

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Alright! Happy now? I'm updating either this weekend or next week so don't worry! I'll never leave you for two months ever again!


	7. Count On Us !

Alright guys

**Alright guys! Here you go! Chapter Seven, just as promised! Sorry, in my other chapter, I used asterisks (the star on top of the 8 on a keyboard) to show that Hinata was stuttering, but it didn't show! Sorry!  
So instead I'll use…. I don't know. Any ideas? Maybe I should do a poll? For now I'm just gonna make her stutter less…..hopefully that's enough to please you people XD**

--

_"Aw.. come on. It can't be that ba- HOLY CHRIST! HINATA IS SIGNED UP FOR __**FOUR**__ DIVISIONS?? IS THAT EVEN LEGAL??" _

_Hinata furrowed her brows. _

"_Is that bad?"_

"Bad? BAD?! It's the equivalent of going to FOUR schools!! You'll have four times the homework, class work AND projects!"

Sakura reached over and took the schedule from Ino, and started to scan it. Once she was done, she scanned it again. And again.

"It looks legit. Maybe we should check with the office or something first though. Meet us after school Hinata."

"O-Okay……Where i-is the office again..?"

**--**

"Sorry honey, this is no mistake. Theatre, Vocal, Academics and Instrumental. _Oy Vey!_ How they expect a sixteen year old to do all this is a mystery to me. Back when I was a teen they ……."

Hinata thanked the old secretary for her help, but doubted if she really heard her. Outside of the office building stood Ino and Sakura, shivering from the unexpected cold air.

"UGH! Remind me to NEVER wear a skirt without checking the weather forecast again!"  
"Like I'm gonna remember that for you."  
"You better! Or else I'll never speak to you again!"  
"Thank GOD. When you talk, my ears feel like they are gonna fall off."

Disregarding that last comment, Ino finally noticed that Hinata had come back, and after shooting Sakura a glare, turned to Hinata with a sweet smile.

"So, Hinata, what'd old lady Hattie tell ya? I bet that the whole you being in four divisions was just a typo right? After all, to do that to a student is pretty cruel. Even _I_ have trouble keeping up with just _two_ divisions. Well, since that was all cleared up, how 'bout we go get some coffee. I know this great little place-"

"The l-lady said it was n-no mistake. I'm in four divisions."

For once, Ino had nothing to say. Seeing this, Hinata paled considerably. In the short time she had known Ino, she had always seemed eager to throw in her opinion on everything. To see Ino being silent felt….unnatural for Hinata.

Sakura, angel that she was, piped up when the silence grew uncomfortable.

"D-Don't worry Hinata-chan! We'll help you any way we can! Right Ino?"

Seeing an opportunity to help someone was just one of the things Ino couldn't resist (along with chocolate, petting puppies, and giving someone a makeover), so of course she agreed.

"Yeah! We'll definitely support you! You can count on me!... I mean US!"

Hinata was almost moved to tears. Here were two girls that she had only met YESTERDAY, and already they were promising to be there for her?

"Alright! Lets start today then! How about we all come over to my house and-"

"S-Sorry. I have s-something to do today." The disappointed look on Sakura's face was heart breaking, but Hinata knew that she couldn't be late today.

"R-Rain check?"

Ino and Sakura both smiled widely, and the three made plans for the weekend. After saying their goodbyes, Hinata rushed for the school entrance.

**--**

_Umm…. The note said Music Room III….right?_

Hinata reached hesitantly for the door in front of her.

_Here goes nothing….._

Opening it, Hinata had to squint to see anything at all. For the second time that week, she cursed her sensitive eyes.

After her eyes adjusted, she noticed the figures standing at the back of the room. Involuntarily, she gulped, and moved towards the back, where Hinata assumed Sasuke would be.

And there he was, leaning against the wall, checking a Rolex watch for the time. When he heard Hinata's footsteps coming near, he looked up and gave her an assuring nod.

"Good. You're 5 minutes early."

He motioned with his hand for the other figures to come over.

"Hinata, this is my band, The Ninjas. I'm sure you've already heard of us."

"Y-Yes. I'm a big fan of y-your work a-actually."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but otherwise remained emotionless.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme! Isn't this that new girl? Hinoka-chan?"

Even if he had mistaken her name, Hinata felt a bout of giddiness wash over her at the thought of The Fox being so near. Usually, a whole stage separated her from her crush. But not today.

"A-Actually, my name is Hinata. A-And yours is?"

"Naruto Uzumaki! Also known as The Fox! Someday, I'm gonna be the owner of a HUGE record company! BELIEVE IT!"

Apparently he didn't hear her last comment about already knowing the band, because he had introduced his stage name along with his real name. But Hinata liked that airhead-edness, she found that part of his appeal.

Hinata gave a gentle smile, then blushed an obscene shade of red.

_I'm actually talking to The Fox. I'm so happy right now I think I could burst!_

She looked up just as Naruto wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and pointed to the red head behind her. Her face was on fire, but somehow she heard what Naruto was saying past the boiling in her ears.

"This guy here is Gaara. In the band his names' The Unloved. Kinda emo, right Hina-chan?"

Hinata shrank away from the glare Gaara had given her, and didn't answer Naruto.

"Finally, there's Shikamaru."

Naruto turned Hinata around to face the corner of the room. Dizzily, she spotted a pine-apple shaped ponytail, paired with a sleeping face.

_Wait… then this is..!?_

"He's The Genius! It's been reeeaaally hard hiding him from the paparazzi, but so far so good!"

"W-Why have you been h-hiding him."

"Publicity." Hinata had not noticed that in the midst of all this, said Genius had woken up and stood beside her.

"It's a publicity stunt. The less The Paps (that's paparazzi) know, the more they want to know. But man, it's been troublesome trying to hide from them."

Hinata nodded her head understandably. As Hyuuga heiress, she understood how hard it was. Paps were a common site around her old school.

"Well, Hinata, you want to become a star, am I right?"

Glancing quickly over to Naruto, Hinata nodded an affirmative to the Genius.

"Do you have any talents? Like singing maybe?"

Glancing at her feet, Hinata replied quietly. "I-I can s-sing a l-little bit."

Shikamaru nodded his head. "What kinds of songs can you sing?"

"I-I don't k-know."

He gave a frustrated sigh, then asked another question.

"What songs do you usually sing?"

"Umm… choir songs. L-Like Ave Maria, a-and Amazing Grace."

Shikamaru looked taken aback.

"Ave Maria? That's at a pretty difficult level. You've had vocal training."

"Y-Yes. When I w-was younger."

He looked thoughtful for a second, then gave a lazy smile.

"This'll be easier than I thought."

**--**

There you go! Next Chapter up next week!


	8. All Around Me

**OK…. So I finished this chapter three weeks ago, but I forgot to upload it --" And then I went on a cruise ( woot woot! ) for a week, and I just got back home so…. Here you go. New chapter! Next chapter up in a few days!  
Of course, the song I used is All Around Me by Flyleaf.**

* * *

"Hinata, can you hear me?" Shikamaru's voice was heard from a speaker to Hinata's right.  
She looked through the glass of the sound room and nodded an affirmative. She blushed a bright red as Naruto gave her a thumbs up and a wide grin.

It had been only moments before that she had told Shikamaru of her talent. He had lead her to the back of the music room, and told her to step inside the sound room."Alright, Hinata, I'm gonna give you a beat. Do you know how to read notes?"  
"Y-Yes"  
"Great, just look at the sheet on the podium in front of you. It has the lyrics of a new song I wrote for the band. Read it over a few times, and tell me when you're ready."  
"Ok."

Holding the crinkled paper in her hand, Hinata began to read the first few words quietly to herself.

_"_My hands are searching for you,  
My arms are outstretched towards you,  
I feel you on my fingertips,  
My tongue dances behind my lips for you.

This fire rising through my being,  
Burning I'm not used to seeing youI'm alive, I'm alive"

_I don't know if I can sing this. I can't relate to the lyrics at all._

"I can feel you all around me,  
Thickening the air I'm breathing,  
Holding on to what I'm feeling,  
Savoring this heart that's healing.

My hands float up above me,  
And you whisper you love me,  
And I begin to to fade,  
Into our secret place."_The notes are so high! And I haven't sang in so long! I wonder if I'll be able to do this. What was Shikamaru thinking?  
_

"The music makes me sway  
The angels singing say  
We are alone with you  
I am alone and they are too with you

I'm alive, I'm alive

I can feel you all around me  
Thickening the air I'm breathing  
Holding on to what I'm feeling  
Savoring this heart that's healing

And so I cry  
The light is white  
And I see you"

_Well, maybe if I try hard enough… No. I'm just gonna tell Shikamaru outright that I can't do this._I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive

"

I can feel you all around me  
Thickening the air I'm breathing  
Holding on to what I'm feeling  
Savoring this heart that's healing

Take my hand  
I give it to you  
Now you own me  
All I am  
You said you would never leave me  
I believe you  
I believe"_thinking__? That maybe if I was good enough, Naruto would just fall in love with me? God, I didn't even know his NAME until 10 minutes ago!_I can feel you all around me  
Thickening the air I'm breathing  
Holding on to what I'm feeling  
Savoring this heart that's healed"Hinata's eyes automatically looked over to Sasuke's direction at the thought of him. It had become a strange habit over the past two days.

What was I

"

And what about Sasuke? We'd be MARRIED!

He was sitting in the corner, listening to an iPod and looking half dead. Hinata noticed a pile of expensive chocolates ( all of which were not opened) next to him.

_He wants me to get rid of his fangirls by pretending to be romantically attached, but will that even help? He's still going to be popular._Deciding that he wanted some privacy, Hinata watched as Sasuke left Music Room III, leaving her alone with three strangers that she had just met, and at the same time, three idols that she admired."Hinata, you've been looking at the lyrics for over 15 minutes now. I understand that you need to get the hang of them, but could we please start now?"

What about his love life? What if he falls in love with someone later? Would we have to divorce when HE finds someone he loves, or would we just end up never marrying?

Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink as she nodded at an annoyed looking Shikamaru.

"Okay, the light over the door will turn green soon. That will be your cue to sing. Got it?"

"Yes."

A light guitar ballad started, and Hinata waited for the cue before singing softly. After about 30 seconds, the music abruptly stopped, leaving Hinata to sing a mid note.

"Alive!"

She stopped and peeked a glance at Shikamaru, who had a troubled look on his face. Naruto however, was grinning and clapping.

"Hinata! You were awesome!" A grinning Naruto yelled in to the microphone.

"Thank you Naruto."

"Hold on a second." A calm Shikamaru spoke as he took the microphone out of Naruto's hands.

"Hinata, can you please sing louder this time? And when you get to the chorus, take shorter breaths. Alright?" He commanded.

"Ok."

* * *

And so, Hinata sang again, this time using Shikamaru's advice. To her amazement, she noticed a slight change.

She was singing much clearer than usual, and it was easier to hit the notes on the sheet.

_Looks like Shikamaru_ _knows what he's doing._After she had stopped, Shikamaru motioned for Hinata to come out of the sound room.

He had something to tell her.

"Alright, you're singing is alright, you can read notes and you have an above average appearance. According to my calculations, you'd do well in the music industry-"

Hinata let out a sigh of relief, but noticed that Shikamaru still had something to say.

"-however, your voice is a soprano. A high pitched voice doesn't do well with pop, country or anything that really suites you."

"W-What do you mean?"

Shikamaru sighed. It seemed to Hinata that he had been doing that a lot lately.

"Well, let's take a high pitched pop singer. Can you think of any?"

Hinata racked her brain for any pop singers that she remembered.

"N-No. None of the p-pop singers I know have high voices."

"Okay. And not a lot of country singers have high voices. Do you know why?"

Hinata didn't do anything; at this point it was a rhetorical question.

"The sound of a soprano in a pop song is like drinking Cola and and eating cake while chewing gum. At first it's great, but then it gets too sweet, and then you get sick. Do you see what I mean?"

"U-umm, kind of."

She got the gist of it, but still had another question.

"So, what d-does a soprano u-usually sing?"

Shikamaru looked at her straight on, and answered. "Some sing R&B, but a lot of them sing…."

"What? What d-do most of them sing?"

"Rock and Roll."

Hinata's eyebrows shot up and over her bangs. It was quite a sight, Shikamaru mused.

_Rock and Roll? As in my favorite musical genre?! This is great!_At this point, Gaara decided to intervene. It was the first time Hinata had ever heard his voice, and it was just like she had suspected, deep and rough.

… But can I pull it off?

"And by Rock and Roll, I suspect you mean that she will.." His eyes found Shikamaru's, and I silent understanding was made.

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm thinking."

Naruto, also deciding to join in on the conversation, hopped in between The Unloved and The Genius, and grinned as his eyes met theirs. Then, turning to Hinata, he finally voiced what they had all been thinking.

"Hinata, how'd ya like to join "The Ninjas"?

It was at this point that Hinata fainted.

* * *

When her eyes opened once again, Hinata could only see blurry figures dancing around in front of here. Slowly, she regained her senses.

"Aaaaaaagh, what have I done! I made her _**faint**_! Oh god, what if she hit her head! How am I gonna explain this to Sasuke!"

A smack was heard, and Hinata winced. The sound was loud, and made her ears throb uncomfortably.

"Shut up, she's opening your eyes. You're lucky she was standing on a rug."

Even through her grogginess, Hinata heard Gaara's distinct voice.

As she began to pull herself up from the-

_Why does it smell like roses?__**perfumed**_(?)rug, a tanned hand pulled her up to her feet. She blushed as she looked up to the face of none other than Naruto, who looked at her as a worried mother might look at her injured child.

"Sorry Hinata! Are ya hurt? Is your head okay? How many fingers am I holding up?!"

Brushing off his concern, Hinata turned to Shikamaru.

"Um… Join 'The Ninjas'? A-Are you serious?"

"Yes. From now on you are an official member"


	9. A Storm Approaches

Well, hope you like this chapter

**Well, hope you like this chapter. Not much to say to you people this time around "  
Oh, and thanks to **_**losethemask **_**for the chapter dedication and reviews .To all my readers, you should totally check out her story "The Trouble With Genders"  
Thanks for listening to my shameless advertising, now enjoy. :D**

_"Yes, from now on you're an official member."_Shikamaru's words kept echoing in Hinata's head, even though it had been quite some time since she had gotten back to the Uchiha mansion. Over and over, they repeated themselves like a broken record. Her happy smile soon faded as the minutes ticked away. Sighing, she turned over onto her side, trying to get in a comfortable enough position.

There would be no sleep that night.

Groggily, Hinata made her way to that days' breakfast room. As her milky eyes met with the window, she almost jumped back at the hurt they caused. Finally, as the bright spots faded away, Hinata realized that the suns' rays weren't the cause for her pain.

It was Sasuke's blood red glare.

She looked down at her food, and pretended to eat. Suddenly she had lost her appetite.

_What did I do now?_After breakfast, The Uchiha family all left to do…whatever needed to be done. Yes. That sounds perfectly reasonable.

Anyways, as soon as Sasuke and our starved, tired and confused protagonist were in the hallway, Sasuke cornered her.

"_What_ do you think you're doing?"

She looked up through her bangs and backed up to the wall.

"I-I have n-n-"  
"**I ****asked**** you a question**!!"

The sound of Sasuke's voice echoed throughout the whole compound, making it seem all the more menacing.

Hinata furrowed her eyebrows. There was no need to yell. Why was he so mad anyway? She hadn't done anything wrong. It was too early for this. She hadn't slept for the second time since she had come here! If anyone would be mad, it should be her.

It was at this point that Hinata cracked. If it was from the lack of sleep, or maybe just her time, no one would know. She began seeing red as Sasuke failed to stop glaring.

"Stop yelling you mindless jerk! You think you can just order people around?! Well let me tell ya something, I'm **not** just anybody! I'm the heiress to one of the most well known god damned companies **in the world**! Now, why the **hell **were you **yelling at me**!!"

Gritting his teeth, a seething Sasuke answered.

"You. Joined. My. Band. We already have a singer. We don't need you."

Hinata furrowed her eyebrows, and thought about quitting the band. For a second. Then, before she lost her nerve, she countered.

"Well, Shikamaru asked me. And last time I checked, it wasn't **you**r band."

With that, she left for the limo, because one, she didn't want to be late for school again, and two, it looked better if she left now while she was ahead. So, with her nose in the air, Hinata made her dramatic exit.

_It's __**his**__ turn to take that damn scooter!_

It was too bad she tripped face flat within her third step.

Sasuke Uchiha, lead singer and guitarist, was scared. Scared of a girl about half as tall as he was, and in his opinion, not even half as quick witted.

How could this girl- this stuttering, easily frightened **girl**- have this affect on him. He had heard her yesterday. That voice! And the way her pitch had no limits! It was impossible.

But Sasuke knew, dreaded, admitted, that what he had heard yesterday was exactly the kind of voice Shikamaru had been looking for all along. The kind of pure and untainted voice that mad you just stop and **listen**. It was maddening that Hinata actually had that kind of talent.

But Sasuke wasn't going to go down without a fight. Oh no, as long as he was still in the band, he **would** be their leader. His pride wouldn't let it go down any other way.

During second period, Hinata could barely keep her eyes open. Her teacher-

_Was it Genla? Gerra? Gen…ma. Yeah, I think that's it._-**Genma **had the most boring voice Hinata had ever heard. She tried desperately to stay awake, she really did, but it seemed near impossible. It didn't help that he was teaching advanced calculus, which Hinata couldn't stand, but she had to deal with it because she was in the Academics Division.

She really had one goal in mind- getting a perfect score in this class. After getting 4 perfect scores, if she remembered correctly, she would get a two week vacation from school. During that time, Hinata decided she wanted to visit the Hyuuga manor.

_I wonder how Hanabi is doing?_

Her thoughts twirled and twisted, and before she could stop herself, Hinata had fallen asleep.

Third period was a little better. Anko-sensei's loud voice and demanding poses kept Hinata from falling asleep, but left her tired and slowly dying out of sheer embarrassment.

_God! How many more times do I have to demonstrate yoga poses before she's satisfied?_By lunchtime Hinata was ready to pass out. Ino and Sakura noticed her tired expression, and kindly toldher about the nurses' office, where they said she would be able to spend the rest of the day sleeping.

Apparently, the nurse was too busy making out with the janitor in the storage closet to actually help the students. She wrote passes for everyone, but she never actually stayed in her office.

So, Hinata hurried to the storage closet where she found the nurse and janitor, got a note, and hurried to the office.

She almost wept at the sight of the nurse bed, laid down on it, and fell into a deep sleep.Hinata awoke to the sound of someone groaning. She turned over on the medical bed, only to spot a familiar pile of red mess in front of her.

"G-Gaara? W-What are you doing here?"

At the sound of her timid voice, Gaara looked up. Hinata let out a loud gasp.

"What happened to your eye?!"

Indeed, the rockstar was holding an ice pack to a freshly mad bruise running from his forehead to his ear.

"My sister."

He didn't elaborate, so Hinata decided not to probe any further. She only hoped she would never have to meet Gaara's violent sister.

After school, Ino and Sakura urged Hinata to come over Ino's house. So, after a quick call to Fugaku (who was infinitely pleased that the young heiress had found friends), she left with them.

Upon arriving, Hinata noticed how the large manor had only one central theme: flowers.

Violets, roses, daffodils, forget-me-nots, you name it, the Yamanaka household had it. The flowers were scattered in various vases all over, but Hinata noted that none of these _**ever**_ clashed with the décor.

_This is exactly the kind of house I expected Ino to live in. Well, not counting all the flowers of course._Upstairs Hinata found Ino's room to be much the same as the rest of the house. But with more pink.

"So," Sakura prodded, "I saw you in Sasuke's limo this morning. What was_**that**_ about?"  
"Oh, well, n-nothing."  
"Reaaally now?" Ino smirked. "So, how long have you guys been going out?"  
"We a-aren't going out!" Hinata yelled. Taking a glance at Sakura and Ino, she could tell they didn't believe a word of it.

"Well, in any case, I think you're gonna have to watch your back."  
"W-What do you mean?"

The two shared a distraught glance between them. Hinata furrowed her brows. What was going on?!

"For one, there's Karin. She's not gonna be too happy at the thought of someone spending time with her precious Sasuke."

Again, Hinata's eyes furrowed. How much trouble can one girl cause?

Plenty, she would learn. Plenty.


	10. Scratches and Sprained Ankles

**Well, it seems that school is more troublesome than I expected it to be. (Shikamaru syndrome xD) Sorry. I AM trying my hardest to get chapters up, and I think it'll be easier once I get my grades up first D: To make up for it though, this chapter is pretty long and even has some fluff.  
Oh, and uh, warning. This chapter kind of has bad language and violence, so yeah. Can't say I didn't warn you.**

* * *

"Hinata, sing louder. I can barely hear you over the guitar." Shikamaru instructed. Hinata sighed and swallowed, preparing to start the song over.

_How many times do I have to do this before I get it right? I'm so useless. We've been practicing for over an hour now. Why can't I get this right?!_

Hinata looked over at the other band members. Well, mostly at Naruto. He was on the other side of the room, cleaning his drum set. Hinata had noticed how chipper he had been for the past few days. He looked particularly happy today, and even winked at Hinata when he caught her looking at him.

Blushing, Hinata finally heard the start of the song, and gathering up as much air as she could, belted out a note. Or, at least, she was louder than before.

With another practice session done with, Hinata mentally tallied up how many she had been to.

_Three. We've already practiced three times, and I still can't get my voice louder than the guitar. What is wrong with me?!!_

She scolded herself silently, not noticing the curious pair of black eyes in the limo watching her. Frustrated tears formed in her own eyes, and she tried uselessly to hold them back.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was looking over to his fiancé with distaste.

Couldn't she act normal for at least a second? Currently Hinata was gripping the leather seat as if it were a life support, and she looked like she was about to cry. Sasuke almost felt sorry for her.

Well, almost.  
It's not like a bad practice was anything to cry about anyway.

* * *

"Hey, Hinata, do you want to go to the new karaoke place with us?"

Hinata shook her head at Sakura. "Sure, but I have practice after school so I might be coming late."

Sakura just sighed and went back to picking at her salad. Ino however, eyed Hinata. She sat like that for awhile, just staring at the Hyuuga. Finally, Hinata just couldn't stand it anymore.

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, it's just that…you didn't stutter. Before you used to do it all the time, but now…"

Sakura raised her head in realization. "Oh! So that's why she sounded so weird. Come to think of it, you haven't stuttered for the past few days."

Hinata tucked her head down in embarrassment.

"I only do it when I feel uncomfortable with somebody."

"Hey! Does that mean you were uncomfortable with us!?" Ino exclaimed.

"No, it's just that you guys were still new to me." Hinata replied, her voice even. Ino and Sakura just smiled, satisfied with her answer.

"You know, I've been wondering for awhile now…"

"What is it Hinata?"

"What divisions are you guys in?"

Ino gave Hinata a wink and a huge smile. "I'm in Theatre and Vocal. Billboard-Brow here," and at this she pointed to a fuming Sakura, "is in Academics and Instrumental."  
"Shut up Ino-Pig!"  
"Oh that's it, now you're gonna get it!"

Hinata decided to intervene before they started an all out cat fight in the cafeteria, suggesting that they get to class early. Grumbling, the other girls agreed, but called Hinata too much of a "goody goody" Hinata just smiled, not minding her nick name one bit.

_Is it that bad to want to be as far from those nasty tuna salads as possible? I don't care if they're "gourmet" and imported from a five star restaurant in Europe. It still tastes like garbage to me._

* * *

Arriving to Advanced History early had its perks. The classroom was empty and unlocked, so Hinata sat herself down in her seat, and enjoyed the company of her favorite book. After about ten minutes, a steady trickle of students found their way into the classroom. One black-haired girl in particular even caught Hinata's eye, and smirked as she brushed past. However, the girl lost balance and landed right next to Hinata. She used the desk as support to lift herself up, and scurried to the back of the classroom.

For the first time in a while, Hinata paid full attention in class. She had gotten a good night's sleep, and had even taken a nap in the limo that morning. Sasuke had claimed he was sick, and therefore unfit to go to school. Hinata didn't miss the chance to have the whole limo to her self, and had stretched out on the seats for a half hour nap.

Hinata was so absorbed in her studies, that when class ended, she found a note on her desk that she didn't recognize as having been there before. She wondered when someone had even put it on her desk.

_Maybe it wasn't meant for me. I hope I wasn't supposed to send this to anyone during class._

Since there was no name on it to give an indication of who to send it to, Hinata just assumed that it was in fact meant for her.

The crisp white paper was neatly folded, as if the person who had handed it to her didn't want anyone to get a good look at it. After arriving at her locker, Hinata opened the little piece of paper.

**Dear Hyuuga,**

**Meet me on the old building's roof at 6'o clock. I have something important to tell you.**

**Sincerely, Concerned.**

Hinata read the letter again, just in case there was some kind of hidden meaning that she had missed. What was going on? What kind of information could someone possibly have to tell her about?

* * *

The wind was pleasant on Hinata's neck. She had somehow figured out which staircase led to the roof of the old building, and was waiting for the sender of the letter. It was already 6:10, and there was no sign of anybody.

_Could this be some kind of joke? Did someone set me up?_

Just as Hinata was about to leave, she heard the door behind her open. She faced the door, and was surprised to see a somewhat familiar face.

It was the girl from her Advanced History class. Her black hair was messy on one side, and smooth in the other. The girl's stylish glasses gleamed red; an effect caused by the reflection of the setting sun in front of her. Behind the girl were two others; a brunette with long brown hair tied in a ribbon at the end, and a redhead who was wearing a beanie hat and holding a flute case.

All three of the girls were looking anything but friendly at the moment, though Hinata had no idea why.

Finally, the black-haired girl spoke.

"So what do you have to say for yourself you fucking slut?"  
Hinata just backed off a little, shocked by her words. She didn't even know this girl!

"Oh, so ya just gonna keep quiet huh? Gonna pretend nuthin' happened right?" The flute carrier sneered.

"I-I-I h-have no i-idea w-w-what-"

"Oh just stop with the act already! We all know you just acted like that to get in his pants!" The brown haired girl spoke up, raising a fist in the air as she said it.

"Yeah, we'll even give you a chance to apologize for doin' it! How's that sound? Huh? I can't hear ya?" The flute carrier yelled.

Hinata just stared in confusion. Were they talking to her? What did they mean by "in his pants"?

"She ain't sayin' nothin' Karin. What do ya want me to do?" the flute carrier addressed the girl in glasses.

"Well, if she's not apologizing, then we'll just have to make her, now won't we Tayuya?" Tayuya smiled like a kid on Christmas morning. She had been waiting to beat up this bitch for fucking _ever_.

The brown haired girl also stepped forward, but Karin held her back. "Stay here for now Kin. You don't want blood on your shirt do you?" Shaking her head, Kin let herself be pulled back.

Hinata shivered under Tayuya's glare. What was wrong with these girls? She hadn't even done anything to them.

Suddenly, Tayuya's hand lashed out and Hinata felt a sharp pain on her cheek. Then another one this time on her forehead, which effectively threw Hinata off balance. She reached with her hand to her cheek, only to find blood on her fingers. A blow to the back of her head sent Hinata face first into the concrete floor.

Hinata tried desperately to get up and run, but a boot to the back of her neck kept her in place. Laughter, and then Karin's voice covered Hinata's labored breathing.

"Not so proud now bitch. What happened? Can't you even defend yourself? Fucking weakling."

Hinata stayed silent, trying to focus only on an escape plan. She tried to calm herself down and think, but how could she? She was being beaten up in an isolated location, and God knows when anyone would find her.

A rough kick to the side sent Hinata facing her tormentors. All three of them were smiling, clearly enjoying the sight before them. Hinata tried to find a bit of mercy in their eyes, but found none.

"Ha! Look at her bloody face!"

"That really suits her!"

"Ya, being on the floor suits a slut like her!"

A boot found it's way to Hinata's face, and Hinata cried out in pain.

_What have I done to deserve this! What could I have possibly done to them!_

Hinata swallowed another scream that threatened to come out as she received a punch to the face. It felt like her whole head was on fire. Struggling, she tried pulling herself up. Surprisingly the other girls gave her room to stand. Hinata tried to make a run for the door, but it was locked. Rin pulled Hinata back by the hair. Her foot twisted abnormally, and this time Hinata didn't even try to stop the scream that erupted from her lungs.

"Do ya really think we'd letcha' go?" Tayuya asked while smiling sweetly.

Karin walked over to Hinata with a smile on her face that was similar to Tayuya's. She motioned to Tayuya and Kin to hold Hinata down, and her hand reached into her pocket. Hinata saw a flash of metal emerge from Karin's pocket, and thrashed out violently.

_Oh God! They're gonna kill me! They're gonna kill me! It can't end like this! I CAN'T DIE LIKE THIS!_

Hinata managed to wriggle out of Rin's grip for a split second, but Kin caught her arm again with inhuman speed.

"Ssshhhh," Karin motioned with a finger to her lips, "Be quiet, or I'll mess up that pretty face of yours."

Hinata gulped as she felt something cold on her neck. She stopped moving, and tried to stop the tears in her eyes from falling out.

"That a girl," Karin crooned, "You know, you're quite an obedient little girl. Yes, quite obedient. It's a pity that you are Sasuke's fiancée. Yes, such a pity."

Hinata shrunk back, surprised.

_I are together!? IS STHAT'S why she's been beating me! Because she thinks me Sasuke are together?! IS SHE ON MEDS?!!_

Hinata gathered up the last of her remaining courage.

"Y-You can have Sasuke. I don't l-like him at all! Please, just stop this!"

That wasn't the answer Karin was looking for. Her eyes narrowed even more than before, and a crazed look appeared in her black eyes.

"I was thinking of letting you off easy, Hyuuga. But now look what you've done. Not only do you say that you don't **like** Sasuke, you are suggesting that you **never** even wanted to be with him. For that, I can't forgive you."

The scissors that Karin had been holding appeared again, and Hinata closed her eyes in anticipation of the upcoming pain. She heard something being cut, but did not feel anything. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes to quite a peculiar sight. Karin was holding a blue cloth in her hand.

Wait.. Not blue cloth…

Hair.

Karin had cut Hinata's hair.

The same hair that Hinata had been growing out since she was a little girl. A sign of nobility and pride in the Hyuuga family.

This girl had cut it.

Hinata was, for the first time in her life, giving off a deadly intention. She acted fast, like an unleashed beast. Freeing herself from her captors grasp by biting their fingers, she lashed out at an unsuspecting Karin. Her arms swung wildly, acting on pure animal instinct alone. Hinata felt her nails dig into sensitive skin, and blood was on her fingertips.

She felt Kin and Tayuya trying to get her off of Karin, and they finally succeeded. Karin staggered to her feet, still holding the scissors in hand.

"**No one touches my face! DIE YOU FUCKING BITCH!"** The scissors came down on Hinata. It went slowly, oh so slowly. Hinata again closed her eyes, waiting for the end.

It never came.

She stayed like that for what felt like an hour, but could only be about a minute or so. In that minute she heard a strange arrangement.

A door opening. A thud. Three voices begging and sobbing. One deeper voice straining to control itself. Two voices, further away, whispering and worried.

She dared not open her eyes; dare not hope that Karin hadn't killed her. That is, until she heard a voice she never expected to be glad to hear.

"Open your eyes Hyuuga."

Hinata shook her head. No. She would not. What if this was some kind of strange mirage? What if she really was dead, and this was all some kind of sick joke someone was playing on her?

Then again, the pain in her neck told her that no, she wasn't dreaming and no, she wasn't dead. For now. Hinata wondered absentmindedly about how much pain a human body could take before not being able to function properly.

The voice knocked Hinata out of her musings. "Open your eyes, Hyuuga." It wasn't asking her, it was commanding. With painstaking slowness, Hinata opened her eyes to reality.

Sasuke's black eyes were clouded and unreadable. He was bending over to where Hinata was sitting, surveying her injuries, looking for signs of danger. When he found no life threatening damage, he asked her slowly.

"Can you stand?"

Hinata was surprised by the… was that concern in his voice? Surely she can't look that bad. Instinctly she reached for the back of her head, only to be met with air. She was about to cry, but saw the pity in Sasuke's eyes.

To prove to him, and her self, that she was fine, Hinata began to pull herself up. She was taken off guard by the sharp pain that attacked her foot.

She landed into his arms with a thud. Hinata struggled to get up again, but the Uchiha kept her in place.

A pair of gasps emerged from the corner, and Hinata turned to see Ino and Sakura. They hurried over to where Hinata lay in Sasuke's arms.

"How…" Hinata managed to force out, and for the first time she was aware of a pain in her throat.

"We, we were worried when you didn't come to the karaoke place, so we called Sasuke and he told us you didn't come to practice."

"Are you okay?!! Do you need us to call an ambulance?" They were both on the verge of tears.

"She's fine. She just needs some rest. She sprained her ankle." Sasuke's voice interrupted Sakura. He stood, and Hinata almost threw up. The world was spinning, and she didn't like the feeling of his arms around her.

"Just bear with this for the time being."

"P-Put m-me down. I-I'll walk m-m-myself." Sasuke looked down and glared at her while gritting his teeth.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Hinata winced at the sound of his voice. It was quite loud, and she felt like throwing up again.

"N-no?"

He sighed and began moving. Sakura and Ino followed behind. Suddenly, something struck Hinata.

"W-where a-a-are the o-other g-girls?" She received no answer.

* * *

Sasuke ended up carrying Hinata to the limo, and he even carried her into the house. All the while, Hinata tried not to cry out in pain every time his steps jolted her. She suspected that he was doing it on purpose, but with no proof it was futile to confront him. Instead, she busied herself with counting the number of paintings they passed.

After some time, he arrived outside of her door. Only, there was one tiny little problem.

He couldn't open it.

Both of his hands were currently occupied with holding Hinata's petite frame. No matter how light she felt, he doubted he could support her with only one hand.

Sasuke rattled around in his head for a solution, and finally found one. With a hard kick, he knocked Hinata's door down. She just watched in horror as the only thing that had ever given her some privacy was torn down. Sasuke seemed unfazed though, and dropped Hinata unceremoniously onto the bed.

He went into her bathroom, and came back a few moments later with a first aid kit. Sasuke grabbed her foot too roughly though, and Hinata bit into the pillow to stop herself from screaming. He wound the bandage around her slowly swelling foot, and put an icepack onto it. Hinata was too tired to push him away. When he was done, he looked up into Hinata's face.

"Karin had quite a few cuts on her. Good job. You fought well." She dreamily let herself be tucked in, like some sort of child.

Hinata fell into a deep and dreamless sleep, but not before asking herself one question.

_Why couldn't he have just called a maid to dress my wounds?_


	11. Drum Envy

**Ok, so here's the next chapter. First chapter of the new year! xD**

* * *

"Hinata! Are you okay?! Do you want me to fly down there!? Who did it?! Was it the Uchihas?!! Are they abusive?!! Oh mygod, my poor sister!! We'll get you a lawyer right away, don't you worry!"

Hanabi as usual was rushing to conclusions, Hinata noted. Then again, it was nice to see her.

Well, that is, it wasn't _really_ seeing her. But webcams are a wonderful thing. Finding that Hinata couldn't walk to school, Fugaku had called for a doctor and made sure Hinata stayed off of her foot for the week. Hinata was given a laptop and other devices to entertain herself, and she had taken this opportunity to chat with Hanabi.

At the moment though, she regretted her decision.

"Hanabi, I'm fine. You don't have to fly here. The Uchihas had no part in my current situation."

"Really? That's good! But, you still haven't answered my question. How did this happen?"

"Umm… well.."

_If I tell her that someone bullied me, it'd just worry her. It's better not to tell her._

"…..I fell down the stairs?"

Hanabi's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything about her sisters' obvious lie. After all, Hinata was probably the worst liar in the country, if not the world. But she didn't press for the truth. If Hinata had wanted to tell her, she would've told her already.

"Oooh! Oohh! Is that Hinata-chan! Lemme see lemme see!" Hanabi was pushed out of the camera's view, to be replaced by a middle aged man.

"Hinata! What has happened to my precious daughter?!! Ooohh.. Let Daddy kiss it and make it better!!"

The man's face pushed against the screen, and Hinata giggled at her father's actics. He was more of a child than Hanabi ever was.

"Otou-san! Get outta the way! I was talking to Nee-chan!" It was Fugaku's turn to be pushed out of the way. Hinata giggled some more. It was nice to see her family.

_When will I get to see them for real?_

* * *

A sound at the doorway brought Hinata out of the book she was reading. She pouted. It was a very interesting book. Why was anyone coming up here anyway?

"P-please come in!" She called, never once looking up. Bad idea.

"Ahem." Hinata furrowed her eyebrows, and looked up to see Sasuke Uchiha standing at the doorway. "You do realize that there's no door here right?"

"Oh. R-right." Hinata fidgeted with her fingers.

_What's he doing here? Did school already?_

"Anyway, I came uphere to.." Sasuke didn't finish his sentence, and Hinata looked at him expectantly.

"To?" A full minute passed, and Sasuke seemed at a loss for words.

"To.. apol-apolo…apolog.." He seemed as if this was causing him physical pain.

"S-Sasuke, could it be that you c-came here to apologize?" Sasuke looked at her in a mix of relief and anger for interrupting him

"Yes. That. If I had come sooner...it wouldn't have happened." Hinata almost laughed. Sasuke looked like a little kid when he pouted like that. Then again, he truly looked sorry, and Hinata knew he would murder her if she laughed now.

"It's alright. I-I've been meaning to get a hair cut." To prove her point, she fingered her hair, hoping that her face looked genuinely pleased. The gesture made her dizzy, so she put her hand down, but did not stop smiling.

Sasuke nodded and left, but not before a war had begun in his head.

Though she was bruised, swollen and in pain, something about the way she smiled made her look almost… angelic.

No, he thought to himself. What was wrong with him today? She was weak, dull and plain. Nothing extraordinary.

But ever since yesterday it was as if he saw Hinata in a new light. The day before, he wouldn't have hesitated in drowning her stupid looking face. She had defied him, hated him, spoke back to him. Any other person would be six feet under by now.

After seeing her yesterday though… so fragile and broken… it made him angry. Angry at what, he didn't know. It was different from teasing her, this actually caused her physical harm. It made him feel useless, weak. Like a little boy who did not properly take care of his toys. He didn't like it.

So how could he stop this feeling of uselessness?

There was only one logical thing for him to do: Hinata was his toy. His property. His fiancé. But most of all, she was his. And like a good little boy, he will protect his belongings. Because if she was hurt again, God help him, he'd break more than just a door.

* * *

Hinata was relived to see that Karin wasn't in class the next day, or in any of the other classes. It seemed that she had caught a bad case of the flu, or at least that was what the teachers had told her. Hinata had a growing suspicion that the Uchihas had something to do with it.

_Well, at least I don't have to face her in school. It's bad enough that I see her in my nightmares._

* * *

Sakura and Ino had approached Hinata at school as if she was a weak animal. Sakura had even offered to feed her, and Ino had carried her bookbag to her classes, even though her own were in the other direction. Hinata had tried telling them to stop, that she was fine, but they acted as if they hadn't heard her. Instead, Ino had gone and bought her a water bottle, because she "looked thirsty" Fed up with it all, Hinata tried explaining to them that what she needed were friends, not maids. It seemed to work, and Sakura and Ino stopped with their pestering concern.

* * *

Finally, it was the last part of the day, and Hinata headed towards the band room. She smiled as she saw Naruto in the far corner, cleaning his drum set. His mouth was smiling slightly, and his eyes showed a sparkle to them that most people reserved for their first love. In a way, Naruto's drums _were_ his first love. And Hinata was even mildly jealous of them.

_Why can't he look at me the way he looks at his drums! Just one look is fine!_

Hinata sighed, and walked to the recording studio, where Shikamaru was already writing down new lyrics.

"Hello Shikamaru-kun" Apparently she had been wrong. Instead of writing, it seemed that Shikamaru had been sleeping. He looked dazed at her, and nodded a sort of greeting before closing his eyes once more. Knowing it was a hopeless case, Hinata let him be.

Instead, she reached over and pried the paper out of his hand. It was a list of band's schedule. First, band practice for two months. Then, their concert at the American Street Music Awards. Reading it over, it had finally struck her at how soon the first concert of the year would be.

_It's only in a week, and I'm still not ready yet! I haven't done any practicing with the whole band, just with Shikamaru in the studio! What should I do?!!_

Hinata took deep breathes and tried to think rationally. Of course, Shikamaru was a genius. If he thought that she should focus on her singing, then she would. He had a plan. He always did.

_Then why do I feel like there's something I should know?_

* * *

**Ha! Another cliffy! Well, at least I have all the outlines done for Chapter 12 and 13. I won't post them up right away because I want LOTS of reviews from people before I do it. So please, Give me some love! **

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